Valley is ‘under siege’ says MP

Nigel Evans makes a personal statement to MPs in the House of Commons, London following his resignation as Deputy Speaker after the Ribble Valley MP quit after it emerged that he is to be charged with sex offences against seven men. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday September 11, 2013. See PA story POLICE Evans. Photo credit should read: PA/PA Wire

Ribble Valley Nigel Evans has raised concerns over the large amount of planning applications for borough in the Commons.

He said: “The whole area is under siege. We do not have our core strategy in place, and it seems as if that is a green light to every speculative developer to put in a planning application, with no protection for the local authority or for the people themselves.”

He added: “If people in the Ribble Valley want to live in Manchester, that is fine—they can go and live there. What we do not want is Manchester coming to us. We do not want to see these towns growing at such a rate that we do not even recognise them.”

After the debate Mr Evans said: “The planning system can only survive if it has the general consent of the people and it is clear to me that the planning system has lost that support.”